


Hollow Eyes and Telephones

by MateriaFlower1_1



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Feels, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Sexual Content, Misunderstandings, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Romance, Swearing, dark themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 10:15:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 16,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14376657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MateriaFlower1_1/pseuds/MateriaFlower1_1
Summary: "I'd never considered what I thought of Yuffie too terribly closely in the past. She was a companion, a friend. I related to her as we were both outsiders - we weren't tied to the rest of the party so tightly. Yuffie... she was something different, something else that I couldn't quite put my finger on." The bizarre, twisted, fun and dramatic relationship of Vincent and Yuffie.





	1. 014. Echo

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I've just got another collection of one-shots here. Again, they're unconnected (unless specified in the notes). The numbers refer to the prompt series that I took these from and naturally randomised them.
> 
> This series is rated high T for swearing, dark themes, and some sexual themes. Nothing too extreme but I wanted to be safe rather than sorry and get this disclaimer out there. I might change this rating later - but don't worry everyone! No surprise lemons here :p

_014\. Echo_

"Vincent..."

The night was cold, and stormy. The clapping of angry thunder shuttered against the windows of the dilapidated Shinra Mansion, with nary a shock of lightning to be seen. Cold wind whistled through boarded up windows and flimsy wooden doors, creating a breezy mist over the rotting floorboards. Moss grew wherever it could, peaking through damp cupboards and creaking joints. The rusted bronze door knobs and gently swaying chandeliers gave a hint of the Mansion's former glory, if it hadn't been for the thick, filmy cobwebs.

"Vincent..."

The wind breathed like a sultry voice, contaminating the air with cold, and misery, and bitterness. Nature was given to being unforgiving when it came to Nibleheim, and tonight was no different. Usually, the people would shut themselves away on nights like this, huddling around the fireplace and putting the radiators up high. They'd tell happy stories and look at pictures of bright, warm sunshine, before sleeping close together and trying to distract their minds from the Beast of Nibleheim.

"Vincent..."

The voice, like a cruel echo, fell upon pained ears. Curled on the floor in the fetal position, he lay alone, and shivered violently as though he'd never stop. He whimpered into the damp floorboards as dirty nails scraped away at the soft, malleable, rotting wood. A tattered red cape was all that covered him bar the black rags, and long black hair splayed on the formerly varnished, oaken floorboards.

"Vincent..."

He could've sworn he heard her footsteps coming closer to him, knee-high boots with too many laces clunking on the floor. And then they disappeared with the next clap of thunder, flickering in and out of existence.

"Vincent..."

He swore he could feel the soft touch of her delicate, killer's fingers, pattering smooth trails of bliss all over his skin. It felt as though for a moment, he had some reprieve from the torturous cold. He felt for a moment, that he could finally feel once more.

"Vincent..."

The echo came with a gust of wind and a clap of thunder, taking the soft touch from his tired, broken skin. He could smell the scent of jasmine hair, and the rotten floor beneath him, and the rich earth beneath that. He could smell the scent of chemical torture through the years, and the pain he'd endured in this room. With a clap of thunder, it was gone again; as though some God was clicking his fingers.

"Vincent..."

He could feel her body above him, and the heat of her body on his skin. He could imagine her just above him, hovering like a dying angel or some poor imitation of a goddess or the echo of a beautiful bird.

"Vincent..."

A flash of lighting, and his glowing eyes could just make out a shadow of the woman above his squirming, writhing, shaking form.

"Vincent..."

The Beast of Nibleheim howled.


	2. 037. Survive

_037\. Survive_

"Well, shit." I cursed aloud, fingers desperately clinging to the rocky edge of the cliff. Don't ask me how I got here, it's a long story. Actually no, we have enough time. I'll tell you.

Vinnie, the genius he was, had saved the world and died. Well, I think he died. I mean, I'd spent the last few days holed up in my- Tifa's spare room (I do actually own an apartment, it's just Tifa's spare room is a lot closer to people to annoy, and my job in Tifa's bar), crying and sniffling and generally being pathetic, holding his cloak close to me. And from what I'd heard, there was no sign of him anywhere. Even Tifa was sounding worried, and I heard her sniffling at night sometimes, along with Cloud's despondent sounding voice.

I had ultimately concluded from my days of solitary sniffling that life had decided to suck.

"Stupid Vinnie, d-dying on me."

But as the days turned into a week, I slapped myself in to shape. Figuratively of course. I showered and dressed properly and went back to work and went back to practising with my shuriken at the WRO. On a target that I definitely saw as Shelke, the little- no, Tifa told me to be polite. So I'll settle for ass.

And every day I asked Tifa if he'd come back, she said no. So naturally, two weeks later, I decided that life sucked, and I may as well just leave for a while. I did.

Shelke the... No, I won't be mean, had left to try and find him, over in Nibelheim somewhere, whilst the others were all in the airship (bar an apparently 'ill' Tifa, and of course the kids), in one last ditch effort to find him. Ha! Like they would. If he weren't in Lucrecia's cave, he wouldn't be anywhere. Sadly. He needs to get over his bad case of emo and you know, actually _see me_!

But there I was, walking up the annoyingly idyllic hill towards her cave, feeling the sun shine down on my skin, warming my hair - which was feeling very silky that day I might add, so shiny! I never did wear many clothes, and whilst the short black shorts and tight white top were an absolute curse in winter, they were a blessing in summer. Although, I didn't generally wear these two items out, only if I were too tired to care; they were more like shrunken items from the washing machine than clothes. Well, either way, here I was. And he wasn't here. And I wasn't going inside! So there I stood, on the edge of the cliff before the small lagoon in front of the cave. And I stood for a bit longer, actually thinking. Maybe it was the fresh air.

"What am I even doing?" I sighed aloud.

I loved Vincent. He loved Lucrecia. I'd followed Vincent to the ends of the earth, but he'd never done anything for me. And now, I couldn't even find him myself. I felt slightly useless. And well, life without Vinnie just wasn't quite the same. No one to tease. No one to fawn over. No one to ignore me. No one to do anything for.

And then I thought, what's the point in living? No Vinnie and no family to look towards to, I had nothing to look forward to in Wutai. No one would really miss me _that_ much... Well, what was the point in surviving? Now don't worry about me, I wasn't really depressed or even that sad... Well, I was about Vinnie just disappearing. But I just couldn't care anymore, I guess. Nothing to survive for, so why bother?

That's what I thought. I wasn't acting on anything, but I stepped forwards, looking down at the small patch of flowers growing just at the edge of the barely-grassy cliff, when I heard him.

"Yuffie?" I heard the smooth, smooth baritone of my dreams call out, a slight croak in his voice perhaps, from underuse?

Either way, that way enough for me. Shocked, I twisted and jumped in some way, and fell back off the cliff, just clinging to the edge by my all too small hands.

"Well, shit."

And that's the story. I know, kind of dull. But here I am now, hanging off the edge by one hand, the calm face if Vincent peering at me over the edge.

"Can you give me your hand?" He asks, holding out a strong, bloodied, assassin's hand to me. I strive to cling onto it, digging my feet into the rocks of the cliff face. Despite the utmost groaning in my muscles, I reach his hand. And with some a scrapes on my knees. I make it up onto the flat cliff, plopping myself down unceremoniously.

"Yuffie, what are you doing?" He asks me flatly, although there might be a hint of worry in there somewhere.

"Well, I was thinking you see, about life an' stuff, and about how you were dead, and how life wasn't really worth surviving, and then I looked at the flowers, and you scared me and I fell!" I say, in the rambling way that I never quite realise until I've finished speaking.

"I am dead, and life isn't worth living?" He repeats slowly, like the words are foreign on his tongue. "What on earth were you thinking Yuffie?!" He almost barks with a tang of regret and urgency in his voice.

"Oh no, nothing like that, just meant that you're dead and then also there isn't-"

He cuts me off with a soft pair of lips on mine. I'm too dazed to even notice much at first, apart from the dancing, rejoicing voice in my head, and the sweet, sweet, bolts of electricity flowing through my body.

"Yeah, I think I'd like to survive thanks." I say, breathless and near a laugh. Point 1 to Yuffie, Shelke-Bitch!


	3. 018. Demon

_018\. Demon_

He looked at himself as though he were a demon. So did others, when he would hide away in the corners - so, most of the time. So did I, sometimes.

He had this way of staring you down, with intense scarlet eyes, as though he were examining the way he'd pin you down, finding your weaknesses with every flinch you made. It was unnerving, but it often got him the information he wanted. I think he could've been a mercenary, or an assassin, had he woken up sooner. Of course then our occupations would be almost the same in writing... But we are nothing alike in practice.

He often looks off into the distance, eyes tortured, soul burning a with a desire to sink into hell. At least that's what his wine-coloured eyes and frowning charcoal eyebrows say. Tifa found him doing that once, thinking he was a demon, locking his eyes in the distance.

"I have no place here," he'd said, apparently, in the midst of one of his periods of self-doubt, "I do not belong amongst the un-experimented on. I belong in hell, with the demons in my head." He'd confessed, to an alarmed Tifa. She said she'd assured him the voice would fade with the last of the Chaos Mako, and that he'd never be a demon like them. But she said he'd looked at her with a look that almost wasn't his; fierce and defiant, hardy and tough in the face of her comforting. She placed a hand on his, and said soft things to him, until he too believed he wasn't a demon. Tifa had come close to seeing the demons then, but not as close as I had.

We were just sitting, silently for once, in one of his many rooms at the Shinra Mansion, bathing in the peace, when he spoke. _"He misses her more than you."_ A voice that wasn't quite Vincent's said, with a hiss and a bite lying vaguely under the undisguised surface.

I lifted my head up from the book (that was hiding a magazine) in front of my face and felt the pit of my stomach clench when I saw the eyes, vacant, fierce and malevolent. I knew that look, I knew those eyes. They sometimes leaked out in his purest rage in battle, or in our most intimate moments. I knew the face of his demons, and the look in his eyes that they gave him.

"Who is 'she'?" I asked calmly, and saw Vincent's mouth twitch, the internal fight spilling out.

"You know the one, the one he always loved." The mirthful, hissing voice taunted her, as though it were a scene from a nightmare. Never even to Tifa did I admit the dreams that haunted me of seeing Vincent longing after the crystal-lady when he was with me, but I think she knew anyway. I detested. Lucrecia not for who she was, but for all she did to Vincent, and all the strife she caused.

"No. I know Vincent stopped loving her long ago, demon."

I watched as his face flinched again. The word 'demon' always did have such an effect on him - and all those that lay just under the surface too. How it made his inner selves writhe and squirm, and made him question who he really was.

"Vincent loves only me, and he will always miss me most." I declared defiantly, in the face of the demon glaring at me with bright, red, flatly-evil eyes I've ever seen. I stood up, hearing the magazine flop out of its book covering, and fall to the floor with a thwunk, and I walked towards him, sitting with his white knuckles pulled taught over his tightly clamped hands caught around the armrest.

_"He does not love you."_

I walked to him slowly, taking measured steps.

_"He thinks you ugly."_

I took a few more steps forward

_"He thinks you stupid."_

I continued regardless.

"He has always loved her."

They couldn't stop me.

_"He wished he had given her her child, not the scientist."_

It took me a moment to take the next step, as I took a sharp breath in. That was always one of my fears.

_"He would rather live back in his coffin."_

I winced and felt like my heart had been attacked, before I brushed it off. The demon was lying, it was always lying.

"He may rather live in his coffin, and he may have wanted a child by her; he may have loved her for a while, he may think me stupid and me may think me ugly." I declared, sitting on his lap, purposefully never breaking contact with his flat, dull, red eyes.

"But loves to sleep next to me, and I will give him a child one day, and I am not ugly, and I am not stupid." I leaned in closer to him, arousing both fear and pleasure within the empty eyes.

"Most of all though, he will always, always, love _me_."

And I kissed him, long and hard with my eyes clamped shut. I watched as I drew back, and in his crimson eyes, there was no flat, fierce, malevolent demon to be seen.


	4. 091. Fireflies

_091\. Fireflies_

The decree was out, and the war was on. All men of serving age must join the army in the war against Shinra, against the threat of losing one's home, family, and honour. A decree from her father, no less. And yet, Yuffie, despite being a girl, was not safe from this. The royal household had no man, or boy, to send. Only she and her father occupied the immediate positions on and around the throne - her father's concubines and their children couldn't get a look in. The male children she knew her father preferred.

So here she was, in the dead of night, cutting her hair to a boyish length, that she'd always found she preferred anyway, and dressing in the standard armour of the nation. From today on, she was not the Imperial Princess Yuphemia, but merely Yuffie, a boy from the countryside around Wutai - not known by many. To the city, the Imperial Princess was being sent away to the country with her household, to be protected from the war. In reality, a half-sister who looked near enough like the true born princess was being sent as a replacement.

It almost hurt her how willing her father was to be rid of her, but she left the palace grounds in the dead of night in complete silence, putting to use her martial arts skills, and running to catch up with and sign into the army, with no trace of her femininity nor past, royal identity remaining.

If she had to fight for her country with her life, she would. Yuffie was no one special.

The camp, Yuffie decided quickly, was not a nice place. And men, she also decided, were animals. The training was laborious and repetitive - every day was archery, breakfast, swordplay, weight training, lunch, cardiovascular activities, pyrotechnic training, stealth training, dinner and finally, sleep. The weeks dragged on and on, with the men slowly getting more tolerable and life outside the Imperial Palace liveable, until they were finally on the move. And a new general arrived to lead them through the first night into the dawn, and their first march before their first bloodshed.

He arrived before them at night; lined up as they were in wide rows of twenty across, and falling back into wider still rows behind that, ready to converge if needed. He was easy to spot. Red cape flapping in the breezy Wutaian wind, he approached. Not long after, Yuffie spotted his long black hair, and red hair band wrapped around his head. He was clothed in almost entirely black - for ease of movement or camouflage she didn't know - except for the golden gauntlet entirely enveloping one arm, and the golden, pointed, metal shoes he wore as another weapon. Yuffie eyed the guns and spare bullets strapped around his waist wearily. It made her ever more conscious of how good she was, and needed to stay, with her shuriken. The closer he came, the more his pale skin was illuminated in the moonlight and, finally, she could see his red eyes - wine-like and dangerous and utterly sexy in every kind of way. Something about the danger and uniqueness and darkness within them pulled her emotions firmly in his direction. Of course, the moment when she was supposed to be a boy was also when her sexual awakening struck.

"They call him the Monster. He's ruthless and they say he won't fail to send a failing soldier home, alone, with no extra food or water or map."

Yuffie stiffened as one of the men she'd met, Taro, whispered this information in her ear. Before she could even adjust her appearance to be more boyish, or whisper something back to the slightly taller man to her left, he was here, standing before them with a monstrous black horse by his side. His red, red eyes focused on Yuffie for much longer than she would've liked.

"Soldiers, you will follow me on whatever I say and whatever I do. You will not disobey me. You will not be rude to me. You will not deviate in any way from my instructions. You will continue to train as we travel, and you will fight to the death without it even being asked of you. Understood?" He bellowed, and a short burst of 'yes' in unison caught Yuffie by surprise. She supposed she showed that.

"You there, step forward and give your name." His eyes came to rest on Yuffie, who gingerly stepped forwards, shoulders back and head up with a false air of confidence.

"Yes, sir. Hazuki Yuffie, sir." She said, voice deepened so that she sounded no different to any of the other men here.

"I asked you, 'understood?'. Well, do you?" He said in a voice more akin to a deep monster-like growl than a roaring, vein-popping, yell.

"Yes, sir!" She replied, and when he gestured for her to step back, she almost felt dizzy from the pressure and fear.

Later, she would find out that his name was Vincent Valentine, and he would become the only man to ever know her love, and her secret.

He would walk in silence all day and, with her prodding at night, he would reveal a few things about himself to her, in return for her neatly woven lies. She fell deeper in love with this mysterious man, slowly revealing more and more of himself like a delicate, soft rose. And even if they joked that Yuffie was taming the Monster, there was nothing that she could do.

And yet, one night, that entire facade of his kindness to her shattered. Yuffie was bathing in the river, not used to the luxury of a body of water and choosing to finally have a nice, thorough bath. The men had gone for the night, having bathed earlier whilst Yuffie faked her typical early nights. After they had all finally returned and fallen asleep, smelling far less than they had done upon leaving, she tiptoed outside, and settled into the clear, fresh river. Running fingers through her hair felt more than good - it was getting to be past her shoulders - and in the reflection of her face, she almost saw a hint of the Imperial Princess Yuphemia, the woman that the men talked to each other about, with entirely too high expectations of her beauty and smarts. Well, Yuffie thought that anyway.

The cool autumnal breeze swept over her pale skin, and goose pimples nicked on the skin of her fair, narrow shoulders. The face of the shimmering lake only rippled when she moved her hands under the cool surface of the water, or the wind skimmed along the brilliant reflection of the bright stars above. One tree rustled from the small island amidst the wide lake, the green grass flecked with fallen, red leaves.

It was so peaceful here. So peaceful that she never wanted to leave, or put back on her bindings, and heavy armour, and the mask of Yuffie. At home, those who she counted as friends would call her Yuffie, as she wished. But she was always, really, Kisaragi Yuphemia, Imperial Princess and Heir to the throne of Wutai. Here, she was the lowly peasant farmer Hazuki Yuffie, a man, and the only person to reach out to The Monster, a personality she'd come to loathe as a facade. Soon, she may even fall as Hazuki Yuffie, never to reclaim her title, birth, or true self.

The long grass behind her on the shore ruffled with something stronger than the wind, and she shuddered, turning quickly and ducking further under the pale, not nearly opaque enough water. There was nothing she could hide behind near her, nor anything she could quickly clothe herself in without giving it all away.

Nothing seemed to approach, and she turned away from the grass, enough to focus on the island before her, and the solitary, red, rustling tree on it.

"Hazuki." A voice, deep and baritone that she'd come to hear all too often in her scattered dreams. It commanded her, and very slowly, she turned her head just barely enough to confirm what she dreaded.

It was him, Vincent Valentine, The Monster, the man she loved. Whatever one could call him, he was there, looking at her with unreadable burgundy eyes that darkened in the depths of the night.

"General Valentine, Sir." Yuffie called, in a breathless, reedy voice. She could feel that the game was about to be up, but she wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Hazuki," he said again, looking over her skin and body for long enough to make her squirm under his red eyes, "I thought you'd gone to bed."

She sunk lower down into the water, covering her chest as much as she could. "Yes sir, I was. But I couldn't sleep, so I came out here."

He eyes her over and nodded, sitting on the shore, golden shoes and gauntlet glinting in the pale moonlight. "I heard the men talking of Princess Yuphemia earlier."

"Oh." She said, looking at the water level so close to her own eyes.

"They said she'd gone off to the countryside, with all her young half-brothers and sisters."

"Yes, sir. I heard so too, sir."

"The thing is, Hazuki," he shifted in his position slightly so as to look down at her face, "I saw her being taken away."

"Y-You did? What did she look like?" She tried to sound like the randy men she was surrounded by, but couldn't deny the vicious pounding of her heart in her chest.

"Yes, I saw her then." Somewhere in the distance, cicadas began to sing their song, and flit around in the moonlight. He didn't say what he thought of her looks. "But I've seen the Princess once before."

Yuffie's eyes widened, and she looked back at him. "Really?"

He nodded, flicking his red eyes up to the round, serene moon. "And she looked nothing like the woman in the carriage."

"I..." Yuffie's eyebrows knitted together. "I don't quite follow, sir."

He sighed, and looked directly into her eyes, as though looking through her soul. "I mean that it wasn't the princess being taken away in that carriage."

"You mean to say that...?"

"You are... A girl." He didn't even bother to phrase it as a question - he already knew that he was right. He didn't say anything more, nor offer any sign of emotion, comfort, nor sympathy on his face. He merely stared at Yuffie's widening eyes, dumb with shock, and full of regret.

"I... I didn't mean to keep it a secret, Sir. I had no choice." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

He said nothing, and Yuffie made her way to the shallower waters, inch by inch, walking steadily closer to his reedy seat.

"My father, he made me - said I'd disgrace the royal family if they didn't offer any men. I think I know what other reasons he had too, the he preferred. So I went. I promise, I would've told you eventually."

Nothing in his face changed, he merely stared into her grey eyes with utter stoicism and silence.

Finally, he opened his mouth. "I was right, you are the Princess." His eyes boared holes into her like the brightest gemstones or the deadliest fireflies.

"Yes. My... My name is really Yuphemia. Kisaragi Yuphemia, Imperial Princess. Please, don't tell anyone, don't send me away on my own - I don't want to leave..." She looked at the trembling water, nervous of how he would react, "you. I don't want to leave you. Even if it is to bring shame on my family."

He only stared at her in silence, his lips finally pulling only slightly at the corners.

"It is a disgrace, for you and for me."

Yuffie said nothing. She rose out of the water, adjusting to the silence they were settling into again. She didn't bother to hide her nakedness from him, but he only looked into her eyes in silence.

"Don't send me away. Don't leave me for the other men to abuse." She reached out a wet hand on the side of his face, stray droplets rolling down his right cheek. "Please, I want you. I am now beyond disgrace... I have lived with men like they were my brothers; when the people find out, I shall no longer be worthy of their throne, so I think. So please, disgrace me further. I have no wish to never experience this feeling with the one I love. Even if he did believe I was a man." She said, and stepped closer to him, feeling the heat coming from his warmer, larger body.

He said nothing, remained in silence in front of the woman he'd known until recently was a man, a warrior, and a lowly farmer. He'd lied to him, and Vincent felt a distant anger bubbling alongside this latent lust. And now she, this Princess Yuphemia that was so familiar yet entirely new, was pleading for him to take her, all lithe, beautiful body and no foresight.

He remained in silence as she kissed him, and amongst the sandy river bank and long grass, took him.

She was right, her father would not have been pleased that one had discovered her secret, but he never had to know. With victory in hand, the male Yuffie disappeared on the battlefield, and Yuphemia reemerged from the countryside, looking older and wiser. With General Valentine being the winning leader, he was rewarded with a title, lands, and the hand of the Imperial Princess - the Yuphemia he'd never met dressed in kimonos and with long hair, but the Yuffie he'd come to know, better than any other, in the bare flesh.

That old fool of an emperor should've known better than to meddle with luck and the gods, and send a woman in a male camp of soldiers that has a Monster for a leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a guess as to which ancient story this is based on!


	5. 032. Discovery

_032\. Discovery_

I've discovered many things over the years. I've discovered materia in hidden caves, hidden caves in mountains and mountains out of molehills. I also discovered the reason for Tifa's eternal sad-smile (Cloud) and the reason why Cloud often looked off to one side (Tifa/Dead-Girl-Complex). I even discovered, maybe a little bit accidentally, how to give Barrett a real hand (Mako, duh!), how to launch Cid into space (WRO, when it was rich enough), how to make Red less lonely (He could come and live with me!), and even how to find Reeve a wife (the internet's a great thing). But I didn't discover until long after I should've how Vincent was on dark, stormy nights around wet girls-turned-women in far too skimpy clothes.

I stopped over at his house, well, mansion, after we completed a mission - a long one, out in the mountains just before Nibelheim. Stupid dragons, terrorising small-town folk. It'd been about two weeks we were stationed out there, just the two of us at the top of a cold mountain, and as the days went on something was up with Vincent. He was twitchy most of the time. He looked kinda frustrated whenever he thought I wasn't looking, and after a while, it began to make me annoyed. But I let it slide - not like an argument would solve much at the top of a mountain. It was perhaps the most mature moment of my entire life.

And then, he was totally fine when we got back. Went back to being his old self, and I didn't say anything. I mean, I was so totally going to mention it to Tifs when I got back to Edge, but that wasn't the point. Talking to your girl about these things doesn't even count as saying anything.

Until the third night. It'd been raining heavily _all day_ , and Vincent had warned me against going outside - apparently the rainwater there was slightly more toxic than it was in other places. It was total B.S, but whatever - it's not like I cared that much. So I was cooped up all day, waiting, waiting, waiting... until it was nighttime. I ended up reading - _reading!_ \- in the end. And finally, it was ten o'clock - time for bed! I made a quick change into my pyjamas, well, they were my old shorts from when I was younger - hardly even decent anymore - and an old, faded tank top. Oh, how Tifs would raise her eyebrow and sigh if she could see me now. Not that she didn't anyway... And I crept into bed, waiting for the night to pass into sweet dreams and the following day to come.

I think I was dreaming about Vincent anyway, I think I can remember what it was about because had the ceiling not broken straight over my bed and a huge cloud-full of rainwater plummeted onto me, I would've been hot and clammy. But as it was - I was soaking wet, drenched from head to toe, and shivering to boot. I let out a strangled scream and shot upright, cursing the sky and the clouds and the rain and the roof in my native tongue before I truly realised what was happening. I marched my way over to Vincent's room, intent on telling him that his ceiling was the most annoying thing in the world, and asking to borrow his hair dryer - because I was certain that he totally had one.

"Hey, Vince?" I called out, not bothering to knock on the door and opening it regardless. He mumbled something in his sleep - I don't even know what that mess of sounds was - before I called out his name again and he opened his eyes, the red glowing ever so slightly in the dark. Not like a T.V standby light and irritating, but a very faint glow that just made the colour stand out from the inky blackness and shone with a gleam that was purely Vincent. Actually, it was sexy more than anything. There's no need to pretend like I cared for any other reason.

"Yuffie."

"Yeah, hey - look, your ceiling has a huge hole in it." I said quickly, watching as his hand reached out and pulled the switch on his bedside lamp. "Yeah, I totally just got rained on. And can I borrow your-"

"Yuffie." He said again, standing up and looking me up and down, paying particular interest to my body, for some reason. Welcome attention, sure, but certainly new.

"Yep? What's-" I looked down my body and swore, loudly - very, very loudly - in my head. My clothes, all two square centimetres of material that they were, were clinging very, very tightly to my body, and my top - the sad old top it was - was just see through enough to be revealing of all that needed to be. I felt a slight blush flame over my body, and my eyes widened, but other than that I kept it as cool as you can when you're accidentally kinda naked.

"Yeah, I really need that hair dryer." I mumbled to myself, averting my eyes from him and moving my hands to cover as much as possible. "Hey, can you turn the light off? It's kinda embarrassing."

"I'd prefer the light on." He said stoically, raking his eyes over me once more, suggestively. It was then that I realised what he was wearing; not much, to spare you the details.

"Oh... Ooh." I stepped closer to him, putting my palms on his chest, warming the freezing flesh. "Hey, Vinnie, can you warm me up?" I asked, a coy smirk on my lips.

"Certainly."

"Tell me, how?"

"I'd rather show you." He said, plainly, bluntly, with a husky voice full of all the hunger I needed.

 _'Oh screw it - your ceiling can wait'_ I thought, and I gave up in defeat, and gave in to him, his heat and his body.

Somehow, that hole in the ceiling went unnoticed for days. And when I finally did return to Edge, a great deal later than expected, and I gave Tifa the full run down - she'd been every shade of red and was currently stark white. I gave her a good three minutes to start functioning again.

And that, kids, is how I discovered exactly what Vincent Valentine, the monster, the hero, the gunslinger, likes.


	6. 035. Phone, Part 1

_035\. Phone, Part 1_

_You have_ _1_ _new message:_

"Hey, Vincent, you never told me you were getting a phone! And how was I, the Single White Rose of Wutai supposed to contact you then?

 _'Perhaps because I didn't want you calling me.'_ Vincent thought to himself, wandering around Shinra Mansion, the place he now called home.

"It was actually Tifa who gave me your number. How come she got it and I didn't? And then Reeve looked at me in his all 'I should probably have told you about this' way and I was so confused. Wait... Don't tell me he has it too!? Oh man, that's mean Vinnie. Even for your vampirey ass.

_'Maybe I should've given it to her... No, I'd receive messages like this more often if I did. It's best to just avoid her.'_

"So anyway, where even are you? I bet you're at that dead-but-not-yet-dead lady's crystal grave thingy.

_'Lucrecia. Her name is Lucrecia.'_

"Well, you don't spend all your time there. You're probably at the creepy mansion place. You live there now, right?

_'How does she know that?'_

"And if you're wondering, it's pretty easy to work out - it's not like we found you there or anything...

_'Oh. That's how she knows. It's still unnerving. What if-'_

"I should come and visit you soon. I'm heading out to see Red sometime soon anyway.

_'I should go on holiday. Hell is supposed to be nice this time of year.'_

"Well, anyway, I do actually have a message to deliver. It's from Tifa. And Cloud actually, those two are together now-

_'Here we go. Maybe I should put the phone down somewhere that's safe and come back in half an hour.'_

"-yeah, they got together like a few months ago - not that you'd know since you're always off galavanting (isn't that such a fancy word?) or you're just moping around. So anyway... Where was I?"

_'Perhaps two hours might do. Maybe ten.'_

"Yuffie, are you still rambling?"

"No... Not at all Tifa."

_'I shall remember to thank Tifa the next time I see her.'_

"So anyway, Tifa's having a party to open the bar next week. You'd better come, okay?"

_'Perhaps I'll go.'_

"Oh yeah, you'd better come because Cid says that if you don't then you're a-"

"Yuffie, the children are around!"

"Sorry, Tifa... Bye!"

_'Maybe next time then.'_

* * *

_You have_ _2_ _new messages:_

"Hey Vincent, guess who?"

_'Bugenhagen'_

"It's Yuffie~!"

_'Oh, how surprising.'_

"So anyway, you didn't come to the party! Vinnie, I told you that you had to come or else Cid says you're a-"

"Hey, Yuffie."

"Oh hey Cloud."

_'I must thank Cloud, too'_

"Did I tell you? Those two are together again. Umm... What was I saying? Ah yes, Cid still says you're a-"

"Yuffie?"

"Ah, it's Vincent. Say hi Marlene!"

"Hello, Vincent. Thank you for saving me and letting me hide in your cloak."

_'You're very welcome. She's a very sweet child. I must congratulate Tifa. And Barrett. And Cloud, it seems. I expected that. I've been alive too long not to have.'_

"Bye Marlene! We'll play hide and seek later, okay?"

_'I should have expected that, too.'_

"Uhh... Let's see. I did have a message for you."

_'I am not sure if I want to hear it or not.'_

"Oh give me a minute."

_'With pleasure.'_

"Oh, I remember what I wanted to say before but now... Oh, did you hear about Reno? Yeah, he just got married."

_'Many congratulations to him. Who is the lucky man, I wonder?'_

"Yeah, he got married to this one girl... Cecily? Cesinie?"

"Cissini"

"Ah, thanks Cloud. Yeah, so he got married to this ex-Turk chick called Cissini. Apparently, she knew that guy, Zack. Who knew, right?"

_'Cissini... Yes, I knew her. That is her name now? I see. Well, I am surprised how that turned out. As long as they are happy together.'_

"Yeah, so it turns out that they were screwing each other's brains out, and she ended up pregnant."

_'Strange, I did not think that she would be one to do that.'_

"And now they're married. She looks like she's about to burst, it's so funny."

_'I wonder how she was in biology lessons. Sorry, of course Yuffie never went to lessons.'_

"Well, sucks to be them I say, sounds like a bad thing to happen..."

_'Such neutrality.'_

"So anyway what was it I had to tell you... Ah, I remember!"

_'Finally'_

"Yeah, so it's Marlene's birthday in two weeks. You should come. She likes you, so yeah."

"You like Vincent too."

"Yeah, sure I do little buddy. Well anyway Vinnie, you'd better come! Remember, two weeks time, Tifa's bar. Later!"

_'Maybe I'll go, I am a bit curious to see what Cid has to say.'_

 


	7. 035. Phone, Part 2

_Phone, Part 2_

_You have_ _3_ _new messages:_

"Hey Vinnie, I have a message for you here."

_'This is new.'_

"Yeah, so Reeve wants to meet you and me on Monday. I don't know what it was for, but it sounds super serious."

_'Interesting'_

"So you'd better make it on Monday."

_'Whereabouts?'_

"Oh yeah, it's at the big building in Edge... It's got a W, an R and an O on the side."

_'The WRO organisation then.'_

"Do you even know that building? You haven't been to Edge in ages."

_'I came last month.'_

"Oh yeah - for Marlene's birthday. But that doesn't really count, I mean like you only stayed for about three hours or so. Or did you? I can't really remember that night..."

_'I stayed for four hours. And I saw more of you than I ever thought I would. I need to get that out if my mind.'_

"So anyway, next Monday, at twelve noon sharp, at the WRO building. And um-"

"Yuffie! Come on, your shift is starting!"

"Ah, Tifa's calling. Bye!"

_'Ah. Maybe she does remember. I must speak to her. On Monday, at twelve noon sharp, at the WRO building. Perhaps I should visit Lucrecia.'_

* * *

_You have_ _4_ _new messages:_

"Vincent, I should probably talk to you at some point."

_'She sounds grave. Perhaps I should call her at some point.'_

"It's been... A long day."

_'Is the darkness still affecting her? I should never have let her fall to Nero.'_

"Can you take your pet Shelke somewhere else please?"

_'Oh. That is all. Maybe it was not such a good idea to leave the two of them together after all. I thought that maybe if I left Yuffie with the remnants of Lucrecia, then she would stop calling her such crude names.'_

"Seriously, she won't shut up about everything!"

_'No such luck, I see. Perhaps I should intervene.'_

"And she keeps on and on trying to bring up the last time I saw you, like it was some huge event!"

_'I should stay away.'_

"Oh yeah, and you know the other day?"

_'Yes, it was Wednesday. I presume.'_

"She totally just started at me for, like, half an hour whilst I was cleaning the bar. It was so annoying! And I was just so... Ugh!"

_'I should speak with Yuffie. Shelke is not a bad person, just adjusting. And I should ask Shelke to stop being so blunt.'_

"Oh yeah, Reno's a dad now. Gawd, he won't shut up about it! But it's funny."

_'Fatherhood. How strange.'_

"Yeah, he's got a son, who I really hope doesn't turn out like him. He's got the red hair though. It's so bright, I thought that Red had just shredded some fur on him!"

_'Red does not shed fur. And his name is properly Nanaki. But I should congratulate Reno and Ja- Cissini the next time I encounter them both. It would be interesting to see the boy, too.'_

"Oh, and um, Reeve wants you in on Saturday. It's either training or a mission - we could place bets if you ever phoned me back!"

_'Perhaps I should phone her at some point. It could be useful. I could benefit. She could benefit.'_

"Yuffie! We've got to talk!"

"Sure thing Tifa! That's probably Cloud proposing to her. I knew he was doing that today! I found a super shiny ring in his draw you see - not that I was looking for materia or anything..."

_'She's a bad liar. When it comes to concealing her kleptomaniacal habits, anyway.'_

"So I'll see you on Saturday at the WRO building - nine in the morning, sharp!"

_'I can anticipate a message in the next few days then, I see. I shall have to visit them on Saturday morning.'_

* * *

_You have_ _5_ _new messages:_

"Hey, Vincent."

_'She sounds very sombre. And regretful. I made a huge mistake in doing that. I'm so sorry.'_

"So I was calling to um say it was uh... Nice to see you the other day."

_'I wonder if that could be anymore unconvincing. Perhaps because I know her so well. Or maybe because I don't know her well enough.'_

"Tifa wanted me to deliver a message you see. Not like I was calling you for any... Reason."

_'She seems awfully cagey. I wonder if something is wrong. I... I think I hope that nothing is wrong. I think that is what I feel.'_

"Oh and uh, Reeve said 'nice mission' for last month's mission. You kinda shot off fast there. I'm not _that_ scary - I'm only a bit of a kleptomaniac and I talk too much."

_'I should visit her, maybe. She seems awfully down. I rarely hear her like this.'_

"But I am the Single White Rose of Wutai. No one else can claim that. Well… I don't _think_ they can, I'll have to look it up."

_'She's thinking about the future awfully fast, for her usual self anyway. Usually, she hates talking about the future - whenever asked about who she'll marry, she says 'a super hot guy, duh!', and when asked about children, her only answer is a blush, and she waves off the conversation. What a most contrary person.'_

"So what was it I wanted to say... Ugh, man I feel sick."

_'She is sick?'_

"I've got some kinda stomach virus - stupid colds and their stupid stupidness. So I'm out of commission for a while, by the way. You can have fun all by yourself!"

_'I do not know whether that will make working all the more difficult, or all the easier. It might be easier, considering that my incessant chattering doesn't wake up the monsters - the monsters were more likely wake up with her chattering than they were with my non-existent conversation and stealth. Although she does possess some measure of stealth.'_

"Yeah, I'm gonna be on the other end of people's PSAs for a while, so you can look forward to that! Hey, maybe I should start leaving messages on your PSA from now on..."

_'I think I would rather her next to me. Close call, though.'_

"I was saying something... Gawd this always happens! I should really practice leaving messages then I could leave ones that are like a minute long, not five hours long!"

_'But then how would I spend my hours?'_

"Well, I suppose it's no inconvenience to you, it's not like you've got tons of stuff to do. Although you should really get into interior decorating. Your house is falling apart Vinnie, you need to get on that!"

_'Duly noted.'_

"So um- ugh."

"You should get back to bed Yuffie."

"Yes, mom. Geez, Tifa!"

"Yuffie, you're probably annoying Vincent, just tell him about the party."

"...Yeah. You're right."

_'...What? Is she alright? I should never have... Oh dear.'_

"So we're having a party for Reeve's engagement next month, like the 3rd. So it's pretty soon. Well anyway, it's here, so we'll see you here then, right?"

_'Perhaps it is best to congratulate Reeve privately. I would not want to exacerbate any situations.'_

 


	8. 035. Phone, Part 3

_035\. Phone, Part 3_

_You have_ _6_ _new messages:_

"Heeeey Vinnie. It's been quite a while, right?"

_'A while? It's been half a year. Maybe more.'_

"So did you go to that party in the end? I got called to Wutai, go figure."

_'I did go. And you were not there - I was most confused. You did not go to Wutai. Tifa did not know where you were, and she and Cloud were most worried. You should come back, and put their worries to rest.'_

"So, does Tiffs miss me? She'd better! That Cloud, too. Have they got their little chocobo babies yet? Because we all know that's what they'd totally look like - I mean come on now, anyone with Cloud's hair looks like a chocobo."

_'Yes - they have twins. Neither of whom look like chocobos. They are quite dear little children, even if I don't like children.'_

"Well, maybe I'll come and visit soon, but I've got some business to be doing in Wutai. I'll be... A couple of months more. Maybe I'll be here for the rest of my life, actually..."

_'Is her father dead? No, I would have heard. What is wrong with her?'_

"I don't know, depends what happens here really. Everything changes so quickly."

_'We know where she is now, at least. We should track her down, finally. Red will be most glad. As will Cid - he missed her more than he expected to. I... I will be glad. Lucrecia, I-.'_

"So, how is Reeve exactly? Is he good? Is he married yet? Nah... Nah I would've read that. On the news. Yup, I would've read that on the news."

_'She seems very static. Is she okay?'_

"Oh um, I have one more thing to say."

_'A message? Where is she? What is she doing? Has Reeve sent her on a mission?'_

"Well. It's kinda like a message. I just gotta say that I-"

"Yuffie!"

"Oh, crap, I gotta go. Bye!"

_'...where is she? We must go to Wutai.'_

* * *

_You have_ _7_ _new messages:_

"Hey, Vinnie. I just got a quick message today."

_'Where are you? You were not in Wutai. You had not been in Wutai. You were never called there. Where is she?'_

"So um I just realised that you guys probably checked for me in Wutai, right?"

_'Yes, we did. And you were not there.'_

"Well... I just got called away on a business trip. Yeah, I had to go to- Corel. So, if you tried to check in on me in Wutai, then I wasn't there!"

_'... She is lying.'_

"Yeah, so I'm in Corel, and I'll be here for a bit longer."

_'We should go to Corel, I shall ask Barrett to check for us... For me.'_

"Yeah, everyone's super nice here. It's pretty pretty and stuff."

_'Corel is a broken town... It has not recovered much, if at all.'_

"Well, the countryside is. I've always loved the countryside! And there's a lot of caves here, so that's why I've got the wobbly voice, if you were wondering."

_'Echoey. The word you are looking for is echoey.'_

"Hmm, they're all nice. They're like all sparkly and stuff. Like the ones at the pole, you know the super sparkly ones."

_'I do not remember a cave in Corel. It is in the desert. That is not the countryside I've always thought of.'_

"Were you there with us then? I can't remember, it's so long ago. Like five, six years now?"

_'Yes I was there. It was just before six years ago. In three months it will be the anniversary; in January.'_

"Well whatever, it's pretty cold too. I gotta bring me a jacket next time. Wouldn't wanna catch a cold! That would be... Bad. It would be bad."

_'Has she still not changed her clothes? She must be frostbitten.'_

"Well anyway, it's crazy having a cave here, right? It's like in the wall of the mountain behind Corel. The more you know I guess."

_'Indeed. I must ask Barrett.'_

"So I've gotta go now. Gotta save my battery and all that. I'll see you later. Bye, Vinnie."

_I'm so-_

_'I swore I could've heard the voice of... Lucrecia? No... Why would Yuffie want to go there? She despised her. I must ask Barrett about Corel. It is not as enjoyable, being on my own.'_

 


	9. 035. Phone, Part 4

_031\. Phone, Part 4_

_You have_ _8_ _new messages:_

"Hey, Vincent."

_'Yuffie?'_

"I am, like, actually in Wutai. You know, if you wanted to come and see me for any reason."

_'Why are there so many people around? Why does your voice sound so shallow?'_

"Yeah, it's been kinda a rough ride. But I'm all better now! Well, kinda. I've still got this thing... And there's a thing... And then there's her..."

_'Who is she? What are you talking about? What is wrong?'_

"I've been, you know, in and out of places."

_'Where are you?'_

"But I am seriously in Wutai. Like, honestly this time. I'm actually not lying, for once."

_'Yuffie? What is wrong?'_

"Oh yeah - my dad is sooo pissed at me! If it weren't so serious, it might be kinda funny. You know, in a 'well, screw you' type way."

_'Why did we not hear about this? Why did you not tell us?'_

"Well, I was talking to Red and Tifa about it the other day, and they think that I'll be all good if I go back to Edge, but I kinda don't wanna. That might make things like a ton worse, and I can't really afford to take much more space of Tifa anymore. I mean, I kinda require a fair amount of space, and they've got their chocobo babies now so..."

_'You spoke to those two, but declined to call me? You did not even leave me a message?'_

"Yeah, now you know how it feels to be left out! Ha!"

_'I suppose I deserved that.'_

"But don't go crawling back into your coffin; it might be nice to, I don't know, keep you around a bit."

_'Yes... I believe that feeling is mutual.'_

"Oh and I got something to show you actually."

_'Oh?'_

"Yeah, I'm gonna call her the Single Pink Rose of-"

"Ms. Yayoi? The doc-"

"I gotta go, Vincent. Bye."

_'Why is she in a hospital? Is she okay? We must go to Wutai.'_

* * *

_You have_ _9_ _new messages:_

"Was it you who sent Tifa and Cloud and Cid to get me?"

_'Yes... It was me.'_

"Isn't it a bit cowardly that you didn't come too? I mean... Oh, never mind."

_'She sounds... Angry. Irate, to say the least.'_

"But I'm back in Edge now."

_'Good. I hope you are well.'_

"Yeah, although I bet you heard that from someone. I'm sure you've heard all about everything else too."

_'No. What has happened? Is something wrong? Are... are you well?'_

"Well, we're all fine, in case you were wondering.'

_'I am glad... And I am confused. Is something wrong, Yuffie?'_

"And in the miracle that someone didn't tell you then... Go pick up a newspaper. Any one of them will do, really. Aw man, I'm such a coward. It's not even like it's my problem, this is so much bigger than just me, now."

_'A newspaper? I haven't looked for days... Let me see.'_

"Yeah, I'm surprised that everyone cares so much, but then again I suppose it's kinda big news. I am the princess of an entire country after all. Although, I think my pops might be kicking me out."

_'What is this? It just talks about the stocks plummeting and has the television listings. There's nothing about Yuffie in here. Why should there be? What has happened?'_

"They're all calling her the 'Pink Rose of Wutai'. It's a cute title, fit for her. I approve."

_'Does she have a younger sister? Or a step-mother? Is that why she's being 'kicked out'? I... I don't think I quite understand.'_

"Oh, Reeve wants to meet us both in the WRO building on Tuesday. Yeah, he says he wants the 'get the team back together', go figure. Well, we were an excellent team. Go figure him to be all 'business over personal relationships'. I don't know how Liliana does it, being married to him-"

_'Were'? We still are... Are we not?'_

"So, meet me in the WRO building on Tuesday, okay? Reeve's office."

' _I see._ '

"And Vincent? You're the worst. It's been months and you haven't even dropped by. I'm- I'm so angry with you, and with myself that I ever even bothered liking you a little bit. I... I'm-"

"Yuffie! They're waking up! And crying!"

"Come on! it's like three in the morning."

_'Three O' Clock... In the morning? Why is she still up?'_

"Okay, okay-"

_'She hung up? Why is she so distant? Lucrecia, why is she being so distant?'_

* * *

I was anxious for the meeting, on Tuesday. I was only chairing it, but I just knew that Yuffie might need my help, and so would Vincent. After all, they hadn't seen each other for a year or so. I felt sorry for Vincent in a way, to be kept in the dark for so long. And for Yuffie, because she endured everything alone. If we hadn't heard Vincent, we would've thought he didn't care, either. But no matter, I had barely sat behind my desk before Yuffie arrived, looking older, and slightly sleep deprived. She didn't look like a mother, not yet, but very few had Tifa's warm maternal nature or my wife's soft bearings. Yuffie, suffice to say, had neither. She was all action and bouncy - not patient and gentle at all.

"You look tired." I commented as she settled into her chair, giving the other, vacant one a hard stare.

"I'm like, uber tired. All the time. They keep me up like, all night. Can I just sleep here please?" She asked, appraising the wooden desk in front of her. "It looks kinda comfy."

I laughed, watching as she yawned widely. "I think there are a few more things to address before you can sleep again."

"Yeah, yeah I guess." She commented, leaning back in her chair with a sigh, as the door clicked open and Vincent walked in. He still didn't look a day older than the day he slipped out if his coffin, eerily.

"Hello Vincent." I greeted as the dark gunslinger took his seat next to Yuffie in front of my desk, and looked at the sleepy woman next to him.

"S'up Vincent."

"Yuffie. You look... Tired."

She snorted and sat up straight, cocking an eyebrow at him. "Nice to see you too!"

He frowned at her. How strange, he didn't really know how to react. I don't suppose I would either, in this situation.

"I have called you both here to speak to you about your working schedules. Now, as you know Vincent, Yuffie isn't available to work all the time now, and I would understand if you wanted to take some time off too, especially now."

"Why?" He asked cluelessly, frowning as he looked between the both of us.

"Because... Sorry? What do you mean?" I was so confused, why was he asking that? Did he not... Did he seriously not know?

"Oh, my gawd. Don't tell me you still don't know. Does the news just, like, bounce off you or something?" Yuffie snorted, rolling her eyes as she slumped back into her chair again, sinking further down.

"I live in Nibleheim - nothing happens there."

"Huh, go figure."

Yuffie paused, and the room fell silent.

"Hey Reeve, have you got a newspaper still?" She asked leaning on the desk.

"Yes, I think I might keep that article forever. It was quite... Amusing."

"I know, right? It was really funny, once I stopped being offended."

Vincent looked between the two of us in silence as Yuffie flicked through the newspaper, skimming for the right article - when she found it, a large two-page spread, with an enormous picture of Yuffie, carrying a child into Edge Hospital.

"Is that your sister?" He asked, nodding to the picture.

I sucked in air through my teeth.

"Ouch! How young do you think I am? Clearly I was old enough for you to sleep with me. I mean... That's harsh." She frowned at him, fiddling with her fingers absently. "That's my daughter, genius."

"Your daughter?" Vincent recoiled visibly, peering at the picture from a distance.

"Yeah. And yours." Yuffie was skimming the article again by this time, chuckling at the list of possible fathers they had down. Rude and Reno and Tseng all featured, but not Vincent - not at all. He was only mentioned in the article as a potential godfather. How ironic.

"That is why you are allowed to take some time off, now-"

"You had my daughter, and did not even tell me?" Vincent asked, with a calm voice that bubbled beneath the surface.

"Well, she's my daughter too. I had to carry her for nine months, all you had to do was-"

"Yuffie." I warned.

"Sorry." She waved her hand in my direction nonchalantly. "I did try to tell you, I just kept on getting cut off in my messages. Oh, and you could've called me, by the way. Maybe I would've told you if you actually called me once." She crossed her arms and looked the other way, her eyes growing slightly red and watery. I had seen how badly Vincent's ignoring had affected her, and it made me want to interfere personally sometimes, but that would never end well - I left it to Tifa, who was calmer and more rational. "It kinda gives off the message that you don't really want to see me, or talk to me, ever. I was having a baby, I'm too young and a princess, and I didn't need to involve a dad who I didn't think cared enough about me, the only living person he's got close to in a century - so why should you care about her?"

"I... I am sorry." He said, defeated. "May I see her?"

"Oh, Shizuka?"

"That is her name?"

"Yeah, Shizuka Valentina Kisaragi, actually."

I could see Vincent flinch when Yuffie said her surname, not his, but he recovered well.

"Why did she go to the hospital? She's not... ill, is she?" He asked as his eyes widened and realisation crossed his face.

"Just wanted to check that she wasn't all Chaos-ed up. Oh, and that her eyes work properly. Sometimes, partial-albinism doesn't go well Vincent." She explained nonchalantly, getting up with a yawn, leaving the dumbstruck stoic man in her wake.

"Come on, let's go, I'll call you back later, okay Reeve?"

I nodded as they exited the room, and Vincent was more inquisitive than I've ever seen him. Well, that was one thing sorted. Maybe next time I'd get my top team back.

* * *

_You have_ _10_ _new messages:_

"Hey Vinnie, I can't believe you didn't pick up on me! You little... Never mind."

_'Its been at least three years since the last time I missed a call, and about seven years before that since I left your messages unread. Please, give me at least that.'_

"Well, yeah, you've been kinda good in the past... Years, so I'll give you that."

_'Thank you.'_

"Shizuka and I will be coming home soon, so you'd better be there when we get back!"

_'Yes, ma'am._

_Wait...'_

"Cid's dropping us back in Nibelheim on his way out of Edge, so we'll be back this evening. How're the kids?"

 _'They are well. It will be good to have the two of you back._ '

"Hmmm... What else was there?"

"Mom! You always get distracted when you're phoning dad! It was about his party."

"Oh yeah! One more thing, everyone can make it for your birthday, you know, the party in two weeks?"

_'It would be good to see everyone. It has been a while since I spoke to some - to Barrett in particular.'_

"Ooh - and the Chocobo babies! Do you know how tall the twins are now?! Well, mostly Jasper, but it's ridiculous, he's just so tall!"

_'Mako certainly can do some wonders for genetic engineering. It's not worth it, though.'_

"They're way too good looking too, at least one of them should have Chocobo butt's hair-"

"-hey! I thought we'd agreed to stop calling me that now!"

"Sorry Cloud, but you did call me Ninja brat, and that brakes the agreement."

"You stole my materia."

"You left your materia out."

"Cloud, Yuffie, please stop,"

_'I must remember to thank Shizuka, again.'_

"Well, later Vinnie!"

 

 


	10. 040. Mistake

_040\. Mistake_

I'd never considered what I thought of Yuffie too terribly closely in the past. She was a companion, a friend. I related closely to her as we were both the outsiders - we weren't tied together as the others were. But I didn't relate to her as closely as I did to Cloud, we are very similar people. And I didn't feel her company as soothing as I did Nanaki's, nor did I talk to her like I did with Cid. I didn't respect her like I did Tifa, with her maternal aura and caring, even in the face of shattering heartbreak. I didn't feel awed by her, as I did by Aerith and her sacrifice, and I wasn't engaged in her conversations like I was with Reeve and Barrett. She was something different, something else that I couldn't quite put my finger on. In the early mornings when she was particularly peppy, it was an annoyance, but the rest of the time she invoked something deep in my gut which I didn't recognise. Like I'd made an awful mistake, and the embarrassment and shame and dread that clung to it.

I do not know quite why I let her into the Shinra Manor that day. It was the first time, since Omega had been defeated, that she visited. I'm not sure why she was in Nibleheim, but I let her in, to offer a shield to the bitterly cold night. Since then, she'd visited when she was in the area, and whenever else she 'felt like a break. From, you know, Edge 'n stuff.' But that night, it was a cold winter's night, the rain falling down in sheets, falling too fast to freeze into snowflakes and sleet. She appeared on my doorstep, ramming the door with her fist several times in a way I recognised as only her. I opened the door to see her shivering, her clothes sticking to her body as a second skin - the air was suddenly a lot hotter, a lot clammier, and a lot heavier. I let her in without much of a word.

Before I knew it, her lips were on mine.

She was all over me, and I could barely register what was happening. It's all so vague as I remember it - I can vaguely recall making it to my bedroom. I can remember the feel of her fingers on my skin, too warm for the cold outside and too cold for my hot skin. I remember the feel of her soft skin under my fingers, all peaches and cream. I'd not known this feeling for many, many years, and the electricity awakened within my long dormant veins made me feel as though I were on fire. I felt hot, and claustrophobic, but liberated and more energised than I had in years. The sound of her voice calling my name will resound in my head for many more years to come, haunting my dreams when I least expect it to. I never once thought it could be a mistake, never once did it cross my mind - I was too involved in my sins to think about the impact.

I felt the regret the moment I woke up the next morning. There was a knowing feeling in my gut, but not as lurching as the feeling that I had around her was. This was more sinister, rather than keeping me on edge it dragged me down, down, down... I left that sunrise, for the cave I hadn't visited in almost a year. I must've stayed there for longer than I realised, and by the time I came out again, there were several messages on my phone. From Yuffie, and Tifa and surprisingly Cloud. Yuffie sounded worried, whereas Tifa and Cloud were inviting me to a celebration - Marlene's birthday. I went, but I was on the lurch all the time. I didn't want my friends, yes, friends, to know what had happened. It was juvenile of me, but I didn't want them to judge me, the both of us, for it. I felt the regret of that mistake intensely, it dived my every move until I returned to Nibleheim. Even then, the house still smelt of her, however faintly, and every breath reminded me of her, and what a mistake I'd made.

Those months afterwards, the limbo of the interim, were both the fastest and slowest months I'd ever had to live. I kept up the hope that she'd call me, but she didn't. She just left, and she just left Edge too. I rarely visited Edge in those months, and whenever I did Tifa always looked so worried, whilst Cloud looked guilty. I knew that they felt somewhat responsible for her disappearance - they'd thought that she'd felt pushed away by the two, and thought they'd be better off if she stopped 'annoying her'. If only they knew what I knew then, I thought. I thought that if only they knew about the two of us and our excellent avoiding skills from the last few months, maybe they wouldn't look so morose all the time. Maybe Cid wouldn't seem so subdued and non-talkative. I felt so guilty, for my mistake.

That guilt was nothing compared to what I felt when I found out. I saw it on the newspaper, when I was going over to visit Cloud and Tifa six months, or maybe more, later. I was passing by a simple newsagent's, when I saw the daily paper's front page emblazoned with the obnoxious print: ' _YOUNGEST SAVIOUR PREGNANT?!_ ' It made me balk, and the picture of a visibly pregnant Yuffie on the cover stopped me in my tracks. I bought the paper and turned around, returning straight home, as fast as I could get there. I remember feeling sick when I read the article, when they listed me at the top of the list of potential godfathers, of all things. I can only remember the shock at first, as it refused to sink into my mind. It was like my own personal torture again. I remember the worry, as I dared myself to think about the child, and how it could be affected by Chaos or one of the other experiments done on me. I remember how I was so angry, for her neglect of telling me. She had not contacted me regularly over the last few months - neither had many of the others at all. Perhaps an odd call from Tifa or Cid, but nothing that indicated anything. I was so upset that I'd missed this much of the event so far... So much chance in that time for change, entirely wasted. I felt so guilty, for making that mistake.

I did debate re-entering the coffin. The day after I found out, amidst a hazy daze, it beckoned. It still lay on the floor of my cellar, virtually unmoved since the day they all found me - including a confused looking Yuffie - and it was virtually unchanged since the day I slipped into it for the first time. I was certain it as the only viable option; I shut down, couldn't think any further into the future - just the past. I just wanted to escape, to escape from the looming date, and the shame and the questions and responsibility. I couldn't think at all of the good that was happening, of the new life that would be half mine and half hers... only of the dangers that I could bring. Of the chaos that came with me, and the red, alienating eyes, and the harsh white skin. I couldn't offer anything to them, so why try? I thought that if I shut myself away, they'd never come to know their father as a disappointment...

This was a mistake. I never should've considered the feeling I'd had around her as a mere coincidence, I should've noticed that it was a portent of a mistake, a grave mistake. I should never have let her in, I should've steeled my heart and curbed my emotions. I should never have given into my carnal side that night, nor her pouting lips and wide eyes. It was a mistake; it was all a mistake.


	11. 050. Flowers

_050\. Flower_

I never actually knew of Yuffie. I never knew of her father either - it was her grandfather on the throne when I slipped into my sixty year sleep. It was a different time then, and animosity was barely brewing between the traditional, oriental Wutai and the quickly growing Midgar, with it's not so underground backer Shinra.

I may not have known of her, but she was certainly the most surprising of my new companions. The others were easy to read; Cloud was torn inside of himself, Tifa loved him unconditionally and Aerith was stuck between Cloud and a shadow of her past. Barrett was wounded both physically and mentally from the past, and Cid and Reeve were caught up in this due to company obligations. Red came the closest, being almost as old as me and feeling the effects of an eternity of youth. But Yuffie was the most different. She was loud and obnoxious and a kleptomaniac during the day, but at night she kept to herself and was an complete contrast. Even after Aerith's death she did not cry as much as I'd anticipated. In fact, she comforted Tifa. She surprised me, more than I'd expected.

I asked her one night, when she'd wandered off alone.

"What are you hiding?"

She snorted, her eyes lighting when she saw me. "Says you!" She stuck her tongue out, approaching the edge of the nearby river, and took her shoes off, dipping her legs in.

"You're hiding something."

"Well, yeah. Aren't we all?" She turned her face to look at the sky, the moonlight bathing her face in ethereal light.

She told how her mother died and her father sent her on an illegal quest without giving her an option. I saw her how she truly was, how pure she was despite her racy clothing. How secretive she was, yet seemed to tell everyone everything, without telling them anything. How virtuous she actually was, despite all that she did. I could see then, how she was truly the White Rose of Wutai.

I was stuck between her and Lucrecia. I loved Lucrecia, in my last life. She was my everything, and I never got the closure I wanted. Yuffie on the other hand was my new chance at life, she was what I could look forward to. A future. But they were both wrong, Lucrecia was dead and Yuffie was too young.

Yuffie was the one I chose. She was my future, and I... I loved her. She wasn't as elegant as Lucrecia, but she was just as graceful, and she was funnier and there was so much that could happen.

But I was too late.

She was gone, in Wutai, and there was nothing I could do but watch as she became the next empress. In a silken Red Kimono, embroidered with gold and magenta and purple and every other rich colour, sewn in the shapes of flowers and swirls and birds. Her face was painted white, and her lips were a bold shade of crimson; her eyes were rimmed with black and her hair grown out and pulled up, in a neatly done, elaborate pattern on her head. She looked beautiful, walking regally into the shrine, and there was nothing I could do. She was out of my grasp, and too far from my fingers. I was too late, but I couldn't tear my eyes away.

I climbed the Tower she now resided in that night, when the moon was at it's highest point and the stars were shimmering like jewels. She was on her balcony, looking out over Wutai - her kingdom. Her face was faded of the stark white colour, but her lips were still full and red, and her eyes were still rimmed in coal black. She was wearing a thin dress, and her hair was down, restring around her shoulders.

"You know...I love you. I really do." She began, her words a mere whisper on the wind. "But now... I've gotta atone for my sins. For all my stealing and lying. Gawd, I sound like you!" That brought me some twisted peace, I knew who she was talking about then, and I skirted around the building. "It's not like I want to do this, but I've gotta. For my country, and my people." She hugged herself and stroked the fingers that'd Seen battle beyond count down the soft sleeves of her silken dress. "I will never forget you, Vinnie. Never." She looked down, a letting out a shuddering breath and turning back into her room. She disguarded the simple dress as she went, and slipped into her bed, leaving me... Tightly strung.

I must've waited at least an hour there, thoughts racing through my head. She loved me. She felt in the wrong. She said she'd never forget me. I debated whether there was still a chance or not. If she'd even want me. But I crept into her balcony, and padded into her room. She stirred and held the sheet up to herself, silhouetted in the moonlight. She looked at me, with confused eyes, too alert for this time of night, and held the sheet more relaxed in her fist, her other hand retracting from it's leap to her Shuriken. I composed myself and looked her up and down, sweeping her body.

"You love me."

"Yes."

"Marry me."

Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. "I... Yes."

We eloped that night, never looking back as she exchanged her surname for mine, and we gave each other plain golden rings. We didn't need much else, just the two of us in this vast world was enough.


	12. 044. Experiment

_044\. Experiment_

It's been so many years since that fateful day. Too many to count. I try not to think about it, about the searing pain of the bullets flying through my chest. About the warm blood spilling over my body, and the bitter stench and the coppery taste in my mouth. About how he threw me down on the silvery plaque and cut me open, against my dying will. And about how I awoke in a different form, as a different person, with too many voices in my head. A jeering one, a bitter one, a mocking one and a powerful one.

The sleep in the coffin after that was torture. It did not feel like so many decades, more like so many centuries. The voice in my head grew accustomed to me, and then disgusted with me. They grew to hate me, and then to tolerate me. But I would never describe them as friendly.

They helped me to plan out my revenge first, planning out every gory detail and thinking of every horrific situation. I revelled in the bloodbath it would be, for her vengeance. For my vengeance.

But after so long, my mind turned blank. I could no longer think of revenge, my mind was no so hot and angry. Instead, I merely wanted to repent for my sins; of allowing Lucrecia into this position, of being shot, and of dying once. The voices in my head all but abandoned me then, chipping in only at the most unnecessary times.

And finally, I was awoken from my repentance. Not by my own volition, but I think I was glad. One shy looking woman, with long brown hair that fell in a waterfall down her back, and great burgundy eyes on a heart-shaped face called something to another, never letting her eyes leave my face. The man, with icy blonde hair sticking up in every which way, and mako blue eyes looked on uncaring. And the girl, the one the shy looking woman called to, hovered over me. She met my crimson eyes with her purple flecked grey eyes; black hair falling about her face and a grinning smile adorned on her round face.

The demons in my head spoke up, the cursed prize of the experiment gone wrong. They told me of my inner feelings, and their salacious desires of lust. But not love.

I don't think they ever expected that initial spark to turn into love.

'The experiment gone wrong', he called our family. Chaos - the only voice left in my head now, and my dual being. He crassly pointed out that it had all started as an experiment, on the same cold, hard, slab as that fateful experiment on me. He was right, but this experiment was far more pure than that gory one, and far better things had come from it.

But after all, they were just two experiments.

 


	13. 050. Eyes

_050\. Eyes_

I'd never define his eyes as creepy, but they weren't totally assuring either. Especially at night. When they just _glow_ I mean, it's kinda sexy, I'll give him that, but it's also a bit unnerving to have two dimly glowing red things looking at you. Kinda like two red fireflies. Or two monster's eyes.

They used to be really hollow, though. Like you'd look into them and something seemed missing. I mean yeah, of course I knew that he could rival Cloud for emo-ness (when he was at that stage - he's totally fine now), but I didn't expect it to be quite that deep.

I didn't even notice at first, he was just kinda Vincent (not Vinnie, yet), and I was still trying to get over just how hot he was. It blew my mind that neither Tifa not Aerith thought that too. Well, they did both have a thing for a certain Chocobo-butted, mako-eyed man, but I thought they'd at least see the brooding, moody side! Well, apparently not, and I was left alone to fawn over the vampire-gunslinger. I think it took me until they came and saved me in Wutai to notice the hollowness in his eyes.

I was just going up to the tip of the Da Chao, my favourite broody place, because well, after lying to all the friends I'd made, I didn't feel to hot. And as I rounded the corner, who would be there but my favourite vampire (and the only one I knew). He was just looking out over Wutai as the sun fell, slipping behind the rolling hill-mountains in the distance. If I'd been any good at poetry, it could've been inspiring. I bet he's good at poetry...

My footfalls must've alerted him to my presence, silent as they were. Must've been the mako enhancements; they made Cloud very twitchy too - according to Tifa with a of from Aerith. I can remember thinking that those three needed to get their dynamic sorted out. How little I anticipated what came next.

"Hey, you stole my spot!" I teased, sticking my tongue out at the corner to him, mischievously.

"There's room for the both of us." He pointed out with that smooth, baritone voice. He didn't turn to look at me, which I thought was odd, but took no notice.

I sat somewhat removed from him, but close enough to maintain a peaceful chatter - my third best skill behind materia stealing and lively chattering.

"So, Vincent, what's up with you then?" I asked with a façade of cheerfulness. But what I didn't expect was the look I got in return.

Raven hair blowing slightly in the wind, pale skin reflecting the orange hue of the setting sun, he looked at me with piercing red eyes that were so flat - so hollow. It struck me deep inside, and I seem to remember choking on air slightly. I felt his pain stab through my lungs and chest, and when he spoke, it sounded underwater.

I never did find out what was bothering him that evening.

* * *

I never used to ask her what was wrong when we two sat alone, in an uncharacteristic silence, and she'd never ask me. Not after that one time on the mountain carved into that of a face in her homeland, when the tear between the past and the present got far too strong of a stranglehold on my mind.

I found her on the Da Chao, the second time, years later when Meteor and Geostigma and Deepground had long passed. She'd been looking down, according to Tifa, and she'd been locking herself away whenever she could afford it, according to Cloud. It worried me, despite what I might like. The countless thoughts of what could be wrong with her seared through my mind for days, and when I received word from Tifa that she'd gone missing, I leapt into action. But of course, being the two closest to Wutai, Red and I were the two who got dispatched there, and I was glad for it. I remembered in the years earlier how she'd told me I stole her spot, and I never forgot it. I felt repentance from the instant I did it, but I set Red off down the other end of the continent and went to check the mountain where I knew she'd be.

I was right, she was there; shiny ebony hair reflecting the orange hues of sundown, and her small frame - much more womanly than it had been last time, and softer to boot - sat cross-legged, and as still as a midsummer's day.

"Yuffie."

She hummed at my voice, and I sat next to her, the reddish earth dusting the top of the mountain felt hard beneath me.

"I heard you left Edge."

"You left us all behind and went to Nibelheim. Alone." She stated back, matter-of-factly with closed eyes, taking in a deep breath in the ensuing silence.

"Tifa and Cloud are worried about you."

That dented her resistance slightly, she flinched and bit her lip.

"What's so wrong with you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm and even.

She opened her eyes and stared at me, and the lack of light in the eyes made hem seem hollow - an echo of a past I'd left behind.

The air seemed to still, and all went quiet. I was aware of the grass between my fingers and the earth beneath that. How the air was cool with the coming of autumn and the leaves ever so gently turning golden, before ruby red, just behind her hair. That'd grown longer since the last time he'd seen her. She looked older, with glazed eyes and a slight crease in the skin beside her lips, and a knot between her eyebrows. He suspected that she was wearing just a touch of makeup - or maybe she'd just become so much more womanly in the past few months. No, it had been years. She wasn't moving, barely breathing. His heart seemed to stop beating.

This was a woman, relegated to a girl, crushed down to a thing, no longer a human. But he could see that, and he wouldn't leave until they worked to build her back up.

"I see."

She looked down at the city before us at my words.

"You matter to all of us and..." Something inside him seemed to shift, like a joystick fitting into gear, and he put a hand on her arm. "You matter to me. I won't leave you."

For the first time in a while, Yuffie smiled. And she smiled with her heart.


	14. 012. Tea

_012\. Tea_

"So I heard the other day that Tseng and Elena were seen at a cafe together."

"Oooh, as a couple?"

"Well... one doesn't like to speculate but..."

"We've seen it coming for ages though."

"That's true. I'm surprised it didn't happen years ago."

"Even the director's got married since then."

"Yeah, and he's a little..."

"Liliana is a Saint."

"She does do an amazing job around here though - I mean, do you _remember_ the decor before she came round and made her changes?"

"That is true."

"Just, grey."

"Grey everywhere."

Yuffie sipped from her cup of tea. The two ladies, two administrative employees of the WRO on their lunch break, each took another bite or two of their food.

"You know, I heard that the Strifes are having a big party soon."

"Oh? Did they save the world without our noticing again?"

"Nope, not this time."

"Go on then."

"I heard that it's their twin's birthdays soon, so they're throwing a party."

"But they never usually do-"

"Well, I guess since everything's calmed down amongst all their friends they can do that now..."

Yuffie felt the eyes of the nearest lady sweep over her and Yuffie adjusted the headphones over her head. They didn't need to know that she wasn't listening to anything, of course.

"It was rather a..."

"Shhh, keep your voice down!"

"Well, I only wanted to say it was a bit of a mess."

"I know, I know"

"Anyway, I wonder if that Cid ... something... will come around?"

"Highwind. Don't pretend you don't know his name, I know you've got a poster of him in your room."

"Fine. Anyway, I wonder if he'll come over. He's so..."

"You're weird. He's pushing fifty. And yes, since you know, she's back now so I guess he'll come and visit her."

Their voices took a plunge for he quieter. Yuffie sipped her tea again and concentrated a bit harder.

"I heard that people saw _him_ going to a ring shop."

"No! I thought that those two were just having a fling?"

"Oh yes, a really long fling that caused such big fights they got into the newspaper?"

"Well, it does happen."

"Yeah, that's true. But she caused a minor successional crisis. That's more than a fling."

"Okay fine."

"Anyway, it looks like he's going to be proposing to her some time soon."

Yuffie almost choked on her next sip of tea.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he bought a ring in there. An engagement ring."

"No!"

"Don't sound so upset."

"But Vincent Valentine is _hot_."

"You think everyone's hot. You're too thirsty for your own good."

"Thirsty?"

"Desperate."

"Ooh."

"Anyway, looks like he's being taken off the market."

"Ugh. I just hope that the hyperactive ninja is worth it."

Yuffie almost choked on her tea again. She didn't even like tea, but it felt like an appropriate thing to drink in this secretarial role she'd been forced into. She caused enough trouble for the WRO that she really should've been fired but Reeve let her just be a secretary for 6 months until she could fight again. But hey, it was worth it if she could ~accidentally~ catch all this gossip. Even if it did end up being total spoilers for her own engagement.


	15. 084. Reality

_084\. Reality_

Yuffie sighed and bounced from the ball of one foot to the other in the elevator, turning her eyes up to the glossy black ceiling - just the same as the glossy black walls and the glossy black floor. Gosh, they really did like that finish. Even the thin gold lines that somehow counted as 'minimalist detailing' that traced the middle of each wall were glossy. Oh well. The trade-off for the ache of these heels was that she could check out just how amazing she was looking today in the walls, especially when she had the entire lift to herself.

She shuffled the heavy paper files in her arms and freed a hand to pull her hair behind her shoulders and move the slightly-too-long bangs out the way. Her friend, the long-suffering barmaid, had encouraged her to grow her hair out long. The reasoning being that she was now twenty-two, not twelve, and her hair should reflect that; the previous bob cut did make her face look more rounded and younger than now.

Now, if Yuffie may say so herself, she looked pretty darn smokin'. Shiny hair that reached her shoulder blades, a tiny bit of make-up on her face to make her look older than thirteen but not so much that she constantly wanted to tear her own eyelashes out, and a work outfit that actually made her look like the professional she was! Well, was training to be.

'Ding!"

She shot upright again, tearing her eyes away from checking herself out, nestling the paper files back over her torso and coughing slightly as she suddenly took great issue in adjusting her shoes so that they were perfectly straight next to each other. Anything to stop her from just _standing_ upright in these Gaia damned heels! God, how Tifs even wore ones higher than these for an hour, never mind entire shift just blew her mind.

Gawd, she really hoped whoever it was who just came in didn't catch her rearranging her face in the slightly dull reflection of the elevator walls.

If she never looked up, then she'd never have to see the look of bamboozlement on their face.

But also if she never looked up, she'd miss her floor. The 41st floor is kind of tedious to manage to get to if you're not hanging your head in societal shame.

Okay, in three… two… one…

She looked up and voila! Oh, wait. There was no-one there.

She sighed and relaxed her stance a little, dropping the papers a little further down in her arms. She looked over to the floor guide, floor 11, then away in exasperation. Sure, she probably could've done the stairs in half this time, but now she was kinda stuck and it's not like she was desperate for the- and who is THAT?

A man was silently standing next to her. Black hair, cut away from his face and just below the nape of his neck, creamy soft looking skin that was enticingly pale, a damn nice figure in that dark grey suit and burning, deep red eyes.

Well hello there-

She looked at him in what she thought was a discreet way through the lashes at the corner of her eye, but it probably wasn't.

She was so desperate to talk to him - say something, get a name but the words seemed to ball up in her throat. Gosh, she sucked. She took a deep breath.

"Hey."

"Good Afternoon." He even gave her a quick nod. How cool?!

"Yuffie Kisaragi. Of the Wutai Relations department."

He looked at the had she'd thrust out for him and shook it was a firm grip that sent shivers down her spine. "Vincent Valentine. Protection Agency."

Well, he just got a thousand times hotter.

"Say, Vincent, fancy going for a drink?" She hoped that all her play-flirting experience had paid off into a decent act of real flirting.

He gave her a card with his name and number on it and scrawled a meeting place on the back of it. Apparently, her skills weren't too shabby after all.

A first date became a second, then a third, then a fourth, then a tenth and twelfth and then it was more than either of them could count.

"Hey Vinnie, would you come to my friend's bar tonight?" She shouted from the kitchen of her studio flat to the living room right next door.

"Of course." He essentially lived in her flat anyway. Why not just introduce him to her friends and then they move in?

He did, two weeks later. With the help of Barrett's strong arms, and Tifa's decorating sense and silent fangirling for the pair.

After the friends had left, she drew him in for a long kiss like neither of them had felt before. Each of them had found a home in each other, and when she kissed him like that, it was as though all the love in the world was flowing into her and through her. All that love she never got from the mother who died and the father who never cared. Both of them knew they loved each other but neither had yet to say it.

"Yuffie, I'm in love with you."

She grinned, and then pulled her lips into a coy smile. "Of course." He rolled his eyes at her antics. "I love you too."

The next time she was that happy, Vincent was kneeling on the ground on one knee, with a black velvet box in his hand and a question just past his perfect, perfect lips.

She almost screamed 'yes' and he slid the silver band with one ruby and two diamonds onto her finger. In fact, she almost cried with happiness. Which, for her, was completely out of line. Even Tifs completely roasted her for it later.

A year later brought a wedding celebration of joy and happiness and even the father she never much cared for came and finally told his only daughter that he was proud of her, and happy for this young girl it was like he was only just seeing for the first time.

Soon after came a daughter, with black hair and the pale skin and red eyes and the calm nature of her father. Then a son, just like his dad too but less deathly pale and with her eyes, and then finally another daughter who had the cheek all from her mother and was far more Wutaian than her siblings but possessed those same, daunting, beautiful red-

'Ding!"

The elevator crashed Yuffie back into reality.

That man, with the beautiful face and enchanting eyes was leaving. And before she could even think, the doors were shutting, and then he was gone, swallowed up into the 48th floor.

Gaia Damn it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end for now! Thanks for reading until here, and I really hope you enjoyed it.  
> Please leave me a comment if you've got anything to say, and please come on back when I add some more.  
> Thanks!


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